Family
by Paige242
Summary: Michael and his thirteen year old son prepare a special Mother’s Day surprise for Maria…


_First of all, a BIG thank you to all of the lovely people who reviewed my last story (Almost Perfect)- your feedback inspired this- so I dedicate it to you all._

_Special thanks to Magali for helping me find the CID message board and recommending some awesome stories. You're awesome._

_This story makes sense (I think) without reading Almost Perfect, but it wouldn't hurt to read that first._

_What you need to know is- Michael and Maria have split off from the rest of the group and they have a son- Will- who inherited Michael's alien powers._

_This story takes place several years later. Will is 13 and he and Michael are preparing a surprise mother's day meal for Maria._

_Enjoy!_

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_Mother's Day_

_6:30 PM_

The two men of the Guerin household rushed frantically around the kitchen of their small apartment, attempting to put the finishing touches on the gourmet dinner they had prepared for Maria. With much coaxing, they had finally convinced her to spend the afternoon shopping with one of her friends from work, thus enabling them to prepare their special feast without her knowing (or interfering). Time was quickly running out, however, and both knew that she could walk through the door at any moment.

"Is the sauce simmering yet?" Michael asked his son, Will, as finished pulling the families best set of china out of the cupboard.

The thirteen year old boy shook his head. "No, not yet." He replied, a slight note of panic in his voice. "I don't know why it's taking so long- there must be something wrong with the oven."

Michael sighed and made his way across the kitchen to asses the situation for himself. He grabbed a spoon and tested the concoction only to find that, unfortunately, Will had been correct. The Arrabbiata sauce they were attempting to prepare for their Penne all'arrabbita (one of Maria's favourite Italian dishes) was indeed hopelessly runny and only lukewarm.

"I also think we need more chilli peppers." Will said, as he watched his father stare down at the sauce in disappointment. "It doesn't taste spicy enough either."

Michael shook his head. Although he did agree that it could stand to be spicier, he knew that wasn't the solution. "No." he said gently, hoping that he wouldn't offend Will by shooting his idea down. "I know it tastes a bit bland to us, but trust me, it'll be spicy enough for your mom- human taste buds don't work like ours, remember?" he paused and took a few strides over towards the fridge. "All we need," he continued. "Is a little creamer."

"Creamer? As in milk?" Will asked, unable to see how this would help.

"Exactly." Michael replied as he grabbed the desired item and poured it into the pot. Sure enough, within seconds, the sauce began to thicken to a more desirable consistency.

Will shook his head in disbelief. "Wow. Where did you learn that trick?"

"Not important." Michael replied, his tone somewhat snippier then intended. Even after all of these years, he still hated thinking about the 'Billy incident' that had once torn him apart from his beloved. Aside from the creamer trick, that boy had been nothing but trouble…

"Okay, now what about the heat?" Will asked, breaking his father's train of thought. "Maybe we should just…you know…" he paused. "I know we said we'd do this the normal way, but Mom will be home any minute, and I don't see how else we can get this done in time."

Michael thought for a moment before slowly nodding his head. "Yeah." He agreed. "You're right. Just don't tell your mom, okay?"

The boy nodded and Michael waved his had over the tall silver pot. The sauce instantly began to simmer and the smell of tomatoes, garlic, and chilli peppers filled the small room.

"Much better." Michael stated, proudly admiring his work. "Now- you go set the table while I drain the pasta and put everything together."

"Sounds good." Will said, making his way across the kitchen and grabbing the candles, napkins and utensils.

Michael couldn't help but smile as he watched his son set about his task. Will was growing more and more everyday, and Michael was proud of the amazing child he and his wife had raised. Despite all of the challenges the boy had faced throughout the years- controlling his alien powers, keeping his secret, frequently moving towns and schools to avoid the FBI- Will had somehow developed into a perceptive, sensitive, and confidant young man. Unlike Michael, he excelled at school and never seemed to dwell on the fact that he was different from those around him. Michael and Maria had worked hard to teach their son about his origins and ensure him that his powers were a gift and not a curse. They had also, of course, explained the dangers in revealing his identity to others, and although he was encouraged to train his powers at home he had known from an early age that public displays were much too risky.

They had lived in the current home, in suburban Montana, for two years now and Will had managed to make several friends at his current school. He was surprisingly social, despite the huge secret he was forced to carry, and Michael wished that he could have had his son's strength at that age.

One thing Will did lack, however, were friends who could relate to what he was going through. Michael was eternally grateful that he found Max and Isabel as a child, but Will did not have any similar companions. The formerly close-knit Roswell group now lived in different regions of the United States (for the safety of all) and most of their children had not inherited their parent's alien 'gifts' anyway. The only exception seemed to be Max and Liz's four year old son James who, last Michael had heard, had begun levitating furniture in his parent's house. The age gap, and the geographical gap, however, made it impossible for Will to develop the same type of friendship that Michael had established with Max and Isabel.

As a result, Michael and Will had grown extremely close over the years. Michael was the only other alien Will had ever known, and they shared an undeniably strong bond. They understood each other in ways that no human- not even Maria- ever could. They were not only father and son, but best friends- and as much as Michael wished that his son could have had a normal life, he was grateful that he had someone else like him to teach, and to learn from.

"Dad, do we have any matches?" Will called from the dining room, ending Michael's moment of introspection.

"I'll check the cupboard." The man replied, as he opened the cupboard and looked around for the box. Unfortunately, he didn't see them in their usual spot. "I think we must be out." He shouted back.

"Okay. No problem." His son responded a few seconds later. "I lit them myself."

Michael felt another smile tugging at the sides of his mouth. Will had just mastered lighting fires last month and, in a weird alien way, he was proud to see the boy make good use of his powers.

"What else can I do?" Will asked as he came strolling back into the kitchen. "Is everything ready?"

"Just about." Michael replied. "Why don't you put the salt, pepper and dinner rolls on the table- then go put the presents over by your mother's spot. I'll put everything onto the plates."

"What about the sugar and Tabasco?" Will inquired.

Michael smirked. "Yeah- those too."

The two set to work. Michael dished generous servings of pasta out onto the three dinner plates he had lined up on the counter and then proceeded to ladle their alien-heated tomato sauce on top. He finished it off with a light sprinkling of parsley and then stood back to admire his work.

Even after all of those years of working at the Crashdown, he still wasn't the best of chefs- but he had to admit that they had done a pretty impressive job this evening. He was sure that Maria would be appreciative- she was always complaining that  
Michael didn't cook enough (which was true- but mostly because he worked over time most days and didn't get home early enough to cook). It was mother's day and, being the amazing wife and mother that she was, she most definitely deserved a night off.

Smiling at the thought of his beautiful wife, Michael scooped up the plates and carried them into the dining room. He was happy to see that Will had done a nice job with the table and he gave his son a nod of approval.

"Looks good." He said, surveying the room fully. The candles were burning and the lights were dimmed to create an elegant atmosphere. The plates shone in the flickering light and the smell of the food wafted temptingly throughout the room.

"Yep, she's going to love it." Will agreed proudly as he sat down on the edge of his chair for a much needed rest. They had been cooking for what felt like hours, and both were somewhat worn out.

"I hope she likes my present too."

Michael glanced down at the awkwardly wrapped brown package that was now placed on Maria's chair. Will had insisted on being independent and picking out a present himself on the way home from school last week- Michael didn't know what it was, but from the looks of the bag, he had picked it up at the local drugstore…

"I'm sure she will." He assured, trying to sound sincere. "What is it exactly?"

The boy smiled and glanced proudly over at the gift. "Its shampoo." He replied. "I only had five dollars, so I had to get the generic kind…but I _did_ have enough to get the shampoo and conditioner in one. Hopefully she'll like it."

Michael had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. His mind instantly flashed back to the first double date he and Maria had gone on with Max and Liz- Maria had been less then thrilled to get shampoo back then…evidently, shampoo (even the kind with conditioner) was not an appropriate romantic gift.

It seemed that his son was similarly clueless about what women liked receiving as presents- although in this case, he was sure that Maria would gladly accept the item.

"She likes anything you give her." Michael assured, still choking back his laughter. He made a mental note to talk to his son before the boy attempted to pick out a gift for his first girlfriend- Michael had long ago learned his lesson, and was more then happy to educate his son and prevent him from making the same mistakes.

A clicking noise near the doorway made both Guerin men suddenly jump to attention. Maria was finally home, and they both hoped that she would appreciate their efforts.

"What is that wonderful smell?" Maria asked as she walked through the door and put her purchases down by the hall closet.

Giving his son a nod, Michael strode out into the hallway and gently laced his arm around his wife's waist. She looked beautiful, as always, and he could not resist placing a quick kiss on her cheek before leading her into the dining room where their feast lay waiting.

"Oh my goodness!" She exclaimed, bringing a hand up to her chest in surprise. "Did you two do all this?"

They both nodded, and eerily similar grins crossed their faces.

"We figured you deserved it- for being such a great mother…and wife…all year long." Michael stated.

"This is so incredibly sweet." Maria gushed as she took a step away from her husband to admire the steaming food. "This is Penne all'arrabbita, isn't it? I _love_ Penne all'arrabbita."

"We know." Will replied happily, thrilled that his mother was impressed by their efforts. "We wanted to make your favourite."

Maria smiled. "I think both of my spaceboys deserve a kiss for this." She said as she took a step towards her son and kissed him gently on top of his dirty blonde hair. She then moved back towards Michael and gave him a long and passionate kiss with her beautifully luscious lips. "More for you later…" she whispered suggestively as she drew back.

Michael felt his heart rate instantly increase. She still had the ability to drive him completely mad, even after all of these years. He was sure he had much to look forward too later that night…

"Alright then." Maria said, snapping him out of his trance. "We had better dig in before all of this lovely food gets cold.

Michael and Will quickly took their seats and watched as Maria discovered the two presents sitting on her chair. She placed them both carefully on the table before taking her seat.

"Should I open these before or after dinner?" She asked.

"Now!" Will exclaimed, eager to see if his mother liked her gift. "Open mine first, it's the brown one."

Nodding, Maria grabbed the lager of the two packages and began to pull back the brown 'wrapping paper'. Michael watched with amusement as she pulled the final bits of paper away to reveal a large green bottle of generic shampoo/conditioner.

He could tell the present caught her off guard and he watched her struggle to find an appropriate response. She looked up briefly and exchanged a glance with Michael who shrugged and shook his head.

"Oh…Will, honey…" she began, obviously trying to bite back laughter. "How…thoughtful."

"Do you like it?" the boy asked, confused by her somewhat strange reaction.

Maria nodded and attempted to regain her composure. "Yes, it's great." She replied, more convincingly then before.

Will smiled back, obviously reassured. "Its shampoo AND conditioner." He explained. "I figured that would make it extra useful."

"Oh yes, it's very useful." Maria agreed. "Thank you very much sweetie."

Placing the shampoo beside her plate, Maria then reached for the small box which contained the present Michael had picked.

Michael held his breath as his wife unwrapped the gift- he was pretty sure that he had done well this time, but he still wasn't completely confidant in his gift giving skills. He had come a long way from shampoo and bumpers, but he had managed to make a few more blunders over the years.

"Oh, Michael…" Maria gasped as she opened the small velvet box. "It's beautiful."

The alien gave a sigh of relief and looked up to see his wife admiring her gift with large tearful eyes. She took the item out of the box and held it up to get a better look.

The glittering necklace shone in the candle light, and Maria continued to stare at it, seemingly mesmerised.

Michael had, once again, been stumped over what to get for his wife until an ad in the jewellery store window had given him the inspiration he needed. He had had a family portrait of himself, Maria, and Will engraved onto the front of an elegant heart-shaped pendent and had gotten a personalized inscription on the back.

He'd hoped she'd like it, but had been somewhat worried that she'd find it overly sentimental. Evidently, she didn't.

"No problem." He replied, flashing her one of his charming smiles. "You deserve it."

She returned the smile before flipping the pendent over in her hand to read the writing on the back.

_Thank you for giving me a family._

_Love always, _

_Michael_

It read, in elegant script.

Michael could see that her tears were about to overflow as she finished reading the inscription- she was obviously touched by the message and, despite himself, Michael felt a lump beginning to form in his throat as he looked into her beautiful soulful eyes.

Sentimentalism wasn't really his thing, but his message had been sincere. The family he had created with Maria had provided him with such unimaginable joy, but he often found it hard to tell her just how grateful he truly was.

He had grown up feeling so distant from the world around him. He was different- an alien- and he had intentionally closed himself off from human interaction. He wasn't human, and he didn't want to pretend that he was…

But Maria had changed all of that.

She had shown him what it was like to be loved…to be accepted.

She had put up with his flaws and been there for him in his darkest hours.

She made him feel human, and had stirred up emotions that he didn't think he was capable of.

She had given him a son…a family…a home…

He didn't want to think about where he would be without her and he was glad that, for once, he had managed to express at least a fraction of his appreciation.

"I love you, Michael." Maria said softly as she wiped a stray tear from her cheek.

"I love you too." He replied. "And I mean it. Thank you…so much."

Maria smiled. "You're welcome." She replied, tenderly placing the necklace back in its velvet case. "Now, come on- let's eat before this lovely food goes to waste."

Michael nodded in agreement, but hesitated before digging into his hard earned meal.

As he admired the blissful domestic scene before him, he found it hard to believe that this was what his life had become.

A stable home…

An amazing wife…

A wonderful son…

He was, undoubtedly, the luckiest alien on earth.

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A/N Phew. That took longer then I thought.

If you liked it, please REVIEW- I may be inspired to write more stories in this universe :)


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